Hi guys (and girls),
Any recommendation for USB 3 hub that's can provide really good speed?
I assume powered ones are faster?
Recommendation for USB 3 hub?
Lcktftw on 13/05/2014 - 07:45
Comments
Thanks!!
Does the power affect the speed though? Obviously if there's not enough power to turn the device on then no doubt, but does 'more power' = 'more speed'?
Any recommendation which hub is a decently priced, fast one?
but does 'more power' = 'more speed'?
There is no correlation whatsoever between power and speed.
powered vs nonpowered
The main difference is what level of power the hub can provide in total to the ports it has. A non-powered hub can only divide up the power that the single port it is plugged into is specified to provide- normally .5A@5VDC.
So in that scenario if you have several devices that have USB powering requirements, they will all be fighting for that one .5A@5VDC source meaning most or all will not work (particularly since you mentioned an external USB powered drive which sometime require a Y cable to obtain power from two ports on the computer all by itself).
A powered hub is able to provide the specified .5A@5VDC (or more) to each of the ports on the hub rather than dividing the single .5A@5VDC provided by the computer's port. A 4 port powered hub will have a power brick that is usually capable of supplying about 2.3A@5VDC (4x.5A+.3A reserve), and a 7 port hub brick is usually rated at 3.8A@5VDC (7x.5A+.3A reserve).
That way, each port is able to work with all USB devices no matter what their individual USB power requirements are. Non-powered ones are generally only good for low power requirement devices like keyboards and corded mice.
EDIT: BTW if on a laptop then a powered hub also eliminates the draw on your battery so your working time is longer than if you hang the devices off a non-powered hub.